Pharmacy

Drugmakers are waging a fierce campaign against a proposed California law that would require them to justify the costs of their treatments and disclose major price hikes.

Boosting support for prescription drug monitoring programs, and establishing a consistent funding source, is strongly related to a reduction in opioid-related overdose deaths, says a new study from Health Affairs.

Ruling ensures patent challengers may make an appeal before a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office board, rather than to the federal court.

To cure the country's opioid addiction crisis, collaboration on aligned incentives is needed between insurers, providers and the pharmaceutical industry, Cigna CEO and President David Cordani said during the America's Health Insurance Plans conference in Las Vegas last week.

In an analysis presented Tuesday, the California Public Retirement System's staff lauded the goal of controlling prescription drug prices, but it warned of possible resistance -- or even retaliation -- by pharmaceutical companies. The CalPERs staff also noted that implementation of the drug price proposition could unravel the whole purchasing and distribution network the agency has in place.

In its June report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission warned that rising drug costs and other factors have helped drive Medicare Part D spending up nearly 60 percent from 2007 to 2014.

Walgreens on Sunday formally cut ties with blood-testing startup Theranos and will immediately close all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at its stores in Arizona.

The Food and Drug Administration removed an obstacle from of its "compassionate use" policy this month, eliminating some paperwork that physicians must do to obtain experimental drugs for some patients with immediately life-threatening illnesses.

This prototype machine produces 1,000 pills in 24 hours, faster than it can take to produce some batches in a factory. Allan Myerson, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT and a leader of the effort, says it could become eventually an option for anyone who makes medications, which typically require a lengthy and complex process of crystallization.

The experiment begins Wednesday at the VA's operations in Palo Alto, California. Veterans can visit 14 "MinuteClinics" operated by CVS in the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento, where staff will treat them for conditions such as respiratory infections, order lab tests and prescribe medications, which can be filled at CVS pharmacies. Whether the partnership will spread to other VA locales isn't yet clear.